We were lucky to catch up with Daniel Goss recently and have shared our conversation below.
Daniel , so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
I worked downtown for many years. For several of those years, I operated one of the only breweries in the downtown area. It was a restaurant / brewery. There were talks of some new breweries coming into the area and a reporter came down to get our opinion on what we thought of other breweries opening. Her question wasn’t meant to be antagonistic but in some ways I think they wanted that for the story. Her question was this:
“How do you feel about the competition of another brewery coming into the area near you and what are you doing to prepare yourself and your staff for this?”
I paused for a moment, before responding.
“I don’t believe in competition,” I said.
She paused for a moment. And then followed up with a smile and query, “You don’t believe in competition? That can really be true.”
I pointed across the street and said the following:
“If across the street the exact same business opened up: same square footage, same equipment, same menu, same seating, everything; then they still wouldn’t be my competition.”
She really looked confused, “Why is that? Please explain”
“It’s simple. Everything may look like this business but its NOT this business. I don’t get to hire their staff. I don’t train their staff. I don’t talk with their guests. I don’t write their menus, or cost those menus out. I don’t speak to their vendors. Heck, I don’t speak to their reporters. They may look like us on the outside but they aren’t us on the inside.”
She smiled more and nodded.
I concluded with, “The only competition I have is with myself, what happens within these walls. Those are the things I can control. I can’t control what’s across the street. If anything, they are opportunity.”
This is something I think we all should realize. We are not in competition with everyone else in the world. We can help our neighbors without hurting ourselves. All we should be striving to do is to be better tomorrow than we were today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My wife and I opened a restaurant in April 2022. The idea for the restaurant was born in the early stages of the pandemic. It was a long road to get to the point where the doors opened, but it happened. We were tenacious. It took 12 banks for us to get a “yes”. The restaurant is Point b and it is located in West Knoxville (TN) on Ebenezer Road. Our goal was to bring a fresh, unique, comfortable and elegant place to our area of town. We focus as much as we can on local products. We are also known for brunch 7 days a week and our boards! We have everything from your traditional charcuterie boards to seafood boards to brunch boards to taco boards to, even, a S’mores board for dessert. A big part of us wanting to be local is to give back to the community. So, we hold these private dinners once or twice a month and give the profit from the night to a local charity. From September 2022 to the time of this writing, we’ve raised right around $22,000 for local charities (probably more if you consider that we connected people during those nights that wrote additional checks)! It’s truly an amazing thing to know that we can be the conduit to help connect people and funds to the charities that are really making the differences in our community.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1) Find your mentors. Or, at the very least, allow your mentors to find you. Appreciate the fact that there are tremendous people in the world. People that have experienced different things and have explored different areas of the world. With all of that, they bring a whole new perspective, skillset and level of experience to you. Be receptive to it. Appreciate it. Respect it. Absorb it. Years ago, I was blessed to have an amazing GM that did just that. He spent time to teach me so much about just understanding the dynamics of the profession I was falling into. Heck, he knew before I did that it was going to be in my blood.
2) Find what you love. Seek the romance. As kids, many of us had different ideas of what we were going to do when we got older. As we got older, things changed. Heck, for some us, we may have went to college and are now not even in a career that we went to school for. All of these things are fine. All of these things are okay. However, in my honest opinion, find the romance in what you’re doing. Find something that fulfills you. I work in the restaurant business. For many, this isn’t their “cup of tea”. For several, this was what they did until they could find a “real job”. However, this is my “real job”. This is what I love. And, I find romance in it. I do something that is amazingly special. I make things better. Just got a new job? Come celebrate with us! It’s your birthday? Come celebrate with us! Anniversary? Come celebrate with us! Break up? We’ll make you feel better? Passing of a loved one? We’ll make you feel better. Hungry? We can do that too! All of these things are a moment of time that we can show love, compassion, understanding, humanity, respect and, in turn, make things better. I love my job.
3) Be generous. Be fair. No matter what you choose to do in life choose to be generous. Be generous with your time. Give it to those that will respect and appreciate it. Be generous with your wisdom. Give it to those that will respect and appreciate it. Be generous with your mannerisms. Present to those that will respect and appreciate it. Be generous to those around you. Be generous with kindness. Be generous with compassion. Be generous with tolerance. Be generous with assistance. Be generous with smiles. Be generous in speech. Be generous!
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Well, first thing to understand is that everyone has felt (and will feel) overwhelmed at times. It just happens. It is part of life.
“A skilled captain isn’t made in calm waters. It takes the turbulence of the storm to test our mettle and to make us better.”
We need to understand that. And, when we do, we can take a step back. Breathe. Realize, in that moment, that we do not need to jump from the base of the mountain to the top. It takes steps. It takes determination. It takes grit. It takes a plan. It takes a map. It takes time.
Ultimately, all we can do is what we can do. Ask yourself in those moments of feeling overwhelmed, and really be honest with yourself: Am I doing all that I can?
If the answer is yes, then you have already set the course and there is nothing else you can do.
If the answer is no, then, well, get to work on doing what you’re supposed to be doing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pointbknoxville.com
- Instagram: @Pointbknoxville
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PointbKnoxville
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/dan-goss-8709b18
Image Credits
Most images by: Elizabeth Rosa
